Now that the All-Star break is over, New York Mets baseball is back in full swing. So far, it hasn’t been that successful to begin the second half of the season. The Mets have lost two games out of this weekend’s four-game series against the Miami Marlins, and their 1-0 victory on Saturday, July 20 barely featured any offense. If the season ended today, the Mets would have the third wild-card spot in the National League standings. But, there are still over two months of the season left to be played.
During Sunday’s game, Mets broadcasters Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez emphasized how important the next team homestand will be. They’ll host the Atlanta Braves and the Minnesota Twins, both teams who have winning records and are in the postseason race. Additionally, the Mets will be playing the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium this week for two games, and after the home stand, they have a long road trip. Although they’ll play a couple of teams below .500 during the road trip, they’ll also have to deal with the St. Louis Cardinals for a make-up game and the Seattle Mariners for three games. In other words, this isn’t going to be an easy stretch. Here is why the next two weeks will define the Mets season.
Why Mets Season Will Be Determined During Next Two Weeks
The strength of upcoming opponents
First, let’s talk about how good most of their upcoming opponents are. The Yankees may be struggling a bit now, but they’re 59-42. And, of course, this is the resumption of the Subway Series. You know it will be tough when the Mets and Yankees play each other. This time it’s going to be in the Bronx. And by the way, Aaron Judge homered in both games at Citi Field of the Subway Series this year, including one of them being a grand slam. Expect the same, if not similar, performance by him and others like Juan Soto and, don’t forget, Ben Rice, who was named the Yankees top player for the first half of the 2024 season.
When the Mets host the Braves and Twins starting July 25, they’ll have their hands full. Each team currently holds a 54-44 record. The Braves, as all Mets fans know, are always tough to deal with. Yes, they have some injuries to key players, but their pitching has been outstanding all season long. Their team ERA is the best in the first half of this season. For the Twins, their offense has been doing well, which has helped them currently hold the second wild card spot in the American League standings.
It’s also worth pointing out that when the Mets play the Cardinals on August 5, that will determine the season series between the two teams. The Mets are 3-2 against the Cardinals this year, and right now the Cardinals are in front of the Mets as they hold the second National League wild-card spot. It would help the Mets if they win, but the Cardinals have been decent offensively, so it will be a game to keep an eye on.
The lack of off days
As if the opponents’ strengths aren’t critical enough, the actual schedule itself is a bit concerning. The next off day for the Mets is Thursday, Aug. 1. That means they’re going to go through the rest of July playing every day. If you’re Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, you better hope that the players can deal with that, both physically and mentally. This is a tough stretch for this team, and not having any breaks until the first of August may or may not be too much.
The lack of home-field advantage
Of course, playing in front of your fans at your home ballpark is rewarding. However, during the next two weeks, the Mets only play at home seven times. They’ll be home again after the Mariners series, but they would’ve already gone through the long road trip. So, hopefully, the Mets can overcome this obstacle, although it would help if there could be some Mets fans traveling around to support their beloved team.
How will the Mets do during this stretch?
With the way that the Mets have been playing as of now, there is a level of uncertainty about how well they’ll perform during this tough road ahead of them. There will be some winnable games, and there will also be close games that can go either way. Nonetheless, all these factors will kick in as the season goes on, and, depending on the outcome, the Mets may or may not be in the playoff race when the stretch ends on Sunday, Aug. 11.
Main Image: © Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
